Today's 24-hour tube strike means London Underground is running a denuded service, but you should have seen it yesterday – it was really was pants. Hundreds of pranksters stripped down to their underwear for the annual No Trousers On The Tube Day. Londoners may be having nightmare commutes today, but it could be worse: there could be some bloke's wacky Union Jack undies right in front of your face for your entire journey.
A man wearing Union Flag undies and socksgets undressed on the tubeJustin Tallis/AFPA man shows off his undies as he travels by tubeJustin Tallis/AFPA woman walks down an escalator during the annual No Trousers On The Tube DayJustin Tallis/AFPPeople take part in London's annual No Trousers On The Tube DayJustin Tallis/AFPPeople travel on a London Underground train in their underwearJustin Tallis/AFPMen in their pants act all nonchalant at Kings Cross station in LondonJustin Tallis/AFPFellow commuters studiously ignore a man travelling on the London Underground in his underwearJustin Tallis/AFP
Known elsewhere as the No Pants Subway Ride, the event began in 2002 in New York with only seven participants and has grown into a global phenomenon, with events in more than 60 cities. The event is coordinated by Improv Everywhere, a global flash mob, who call it "an international celebration of silliness".
The idea is for trouserless participants to board a train and maintain a nonchalant air, listening to music, reading newspapers, while keeping a straight face as if all were perfectly normal. The participants wear typical winter clothing on their top half such as hats, scarves and gloves and do not acknowledge each other's similar state of undress.
A man takes his trousers off on a New York subway trainKena Betancur/AFPA more conventionally dressed commuter looks at a woman travelling in her underwear on the New York subwayKena Betancur/AFPPeople travel on the New York subway in their underwearKena Betancur/AFPPeople taking part in the No Pants Subway Ride dance in a station in New YorkKena Betancur/AFPUnderdressed commuters brave the freezing conditions in New York in their underwearKena Betancur/AFPA man dressed as a trouserless US Vice President-elect Mike Pence crosses an icy street to take part in the No Pants Subway Ride in New YorkKena Betancur/AFPPeople remove their trousers to prepare for the No Pants Subway Ride in Prague, Czech RepublicDavid W Cerny/ReutersPeople wearing no trousers stand on an escalator in a subway station in PragueMichal Cizek/AFPPeople taking part in the annual No Pants Subway Ride pose for a group picture in snow in front of Brandenburg gate in BerlinHannibal Hanschke/ReutersA woman obeys the instruction printed on a guy's undies on the Berlin undergroundSteffi Loos/Getty ImagesTwo women clad in their underwear read the New York Times on an underground train in BerlinSteffi Loos/Getty ImagesA man wearing tiny leather shorts walks through a train station in Berlin. He was probably taking part in the No Pants Subway Ride, but this is Berlin...Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters
